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Young Thug Thanks Fans For Their Support At Hot 97 Summer Jam

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Young Thug Hot 97 Summer Jam
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Young Thug may not have been able to perform at Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam festival as planned, but he was still able to make an appearance in spirit. Just ahead of Fivio Foreign’s headlining performance, Hot 97 played a video of Thug’s peers sharing supportive messages that concluded with an audio recording of the incarcerated Atlanta artist himself. “I just want to say thank you to all of my friends and my family for coming out and supporting us,” he said. “You know, your support during this time means a lot to us.”

“This isn’t just about me or YSL,” he continued. “I always use my music as a form of artistic expression, and now I see that Black artists and rappers don’t have that freedom. Everybody please sign the ‘Protect Black Art’ petition and keep praying for us. I love you all.”

The petition was posted on Change.org by 300 Entertainment co-founder Kevin Liles and encouraged the federal adoption of legislation like the New York State Bill S7527, which would limit the use of artists’ lyrics in criminal trials. Nicknamed the “Rap Music On Trial” bill, it was passed by the State Senate in May but still has to go through the State Assembly and get ratified by the Governor.

The bill has seen greater attention in the wake of Young Thug’s case, in which he, Gunna, and 26 other members of their YSL crew were charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; prosecutors maintain that the label is a so-called “hybrid street gang” responsible for dozens of incidents of violence in the Fulton County area. The evidence against both Thug and Gunna included instances of their lyrics in which they shout out YSL, the name of their label. Both rappers have been denied bond and a trial has been set for January 9, 2023.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Game Admits It ‘Hurt’ Being Left Out Of The Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Lineup

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This year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was led by Dr. Dre who brought on a star-studded cast of acts for the show. Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Anderson .Paak, and 50 Cent all joined him on stage for the epic performance. Afterward, it appeared that The Game, who’s collaborated with some of the aforementioned artists on multiple occasions, implied that he should’ve been among the performers for the show. However, he later denied that he was upset about being left out of the show. “I don’t feel no way about not being included,” he said at the time.

A few months later, The Game has now backtracked on his denial. The topic came up in an upcoming episode of the I Am Athlete podcast — led by Brandon Marshall, Pacman Jones and Nick “ Swaggy P” Young. The episode was teased in a preview clip. “The real reason I wasn’t on the Super Bowl [Halftime Show] is because I’m not a ‘safe’ artist,’” The Game said. “You don’t know what the Game gon’ do when he get up there. So, it’s just like, ‘He not safe,’ so they went with the safe artists.”

He continued, “We, on the West Coast, are the only motherf*ckers who have this crab-in-a-barrel mentality, where we wanna keep n****s down. Snoop Dogg is icon. Dre is icon. Em is an icon, but Em is not from L.A. 50 is not from L.A. I’m not taking away from the fact that they’re were on the Super Bowl, but L.A. [artists] wouldn’t have been in the Detroit Super Bowl or New York Super Bowl. It just wouldn’t have happened … L.A., L.A., L.A. all around the Super Bowl and I didn’t get the call.”

The Game then admitted he was “hurt” that he was left out of the lineup. “I talk to Dre often. I just know if I was Dre and he was Game, he would’ve been up there,” he said. “That’s just it. It’s L.A. I am L.A. I’m in the streets … So, yeah, I was hurt. Now am I bothered by it today? I’m not bothered by it today.”

You can watch the preview clip above.

Kodak Black Says He Has Enough Songs With Drake To Potentially Make An Album

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It was just a month ago that Kodak Black made a trio of surprise appearances on Kendrick Lamar’s fifth album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Due to the rapper’s controversial past, many thought that a collaboration between him and Kendrick would never come to fruition, but as we saw last month, that was far from the case. On Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kodak appears on “Worldwide Steppers,” “Rich (Interlude),” and “Savior,” but now, the Florida native is looking to share some music with another rap superstar: Drake.

“Me and Drake we got some more music,” Kodak said during a press conference for his Kodak Black Day music festival in his hometown of Pompano Beach, Florida. “It’s really on whenever bruh might feel like he ready and stuff.” He added, “They be like, ‘Is we gone drop the album? We gon’ do this?’ It’s really on him. We got a lot of songs though.”

Kodak’s past collaborations with Kendrick and his possible releases with Drake continues the trend of the rapper receiving love from some of the industry’s biggest names. Jay-Z included Kodak on his memorial Day playlist for Tidal and Future recruited him for an appearance on his I Never Liked You album.

You can watch Kodak talk about his collaborations with Drake in the video above.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Roddy Ricch Was Arrested On Multiple Gun Charges Prior To His Governors Ball Set

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Roddy Ricch was set to bring his talents to this weekend’s Governors Ball in New York City, but unfortunately for him and those who hoped to see him perform, he was arrested before he could take the stage. According to TMZ, the Live Life Fast rapper and his crew were stopped at a security checkpoint at the festival, and according to law enforcement, a loaded firearm was discovered inside the vehicle that he was taking to the festival. Officers said they found nine rounds of ammunition and a large-capacity magazine. As a result, Roddy along with two others in the vehicle were taken into custody.

In total, Roddy faces four charges in the matter including criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a large capacity ammo feeding device, and unlawful possession of that device. Roddy’s arrest occurs just six months after he dropped his long-awaited sophomore album Live Life Fast. More recently, he teamed up again with Post Malone for their “Cooped Up,” a song that received the visual treatment not too long ago. The duo also performed the track together on Saturday Night Live.

As for Governors Ball, this marks the third act that was unable to perform this weekend. It began with Migos dropping out of the lineup for unknown reasons. They were replaced by Lil Wayne, but he also missed his set due to flight issues.

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Khruangbin Invites Yasiin Bey On Stage At Primavera Sound To Perform A Hip-Hop Version Of ‘Maria Tambien’

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Texas trio Khruangbin has put forth a pretty strong 2022 year so far. Their four months removed from the release of their Texas Moon project with Leon Bridges, which is the companion release of their 2020 drop Texas Sun. The former project comes after they dropped a remix edition of their Mordechai effort last year. This past weekend, Khruangbin took their talents to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival which has been ongoing since the beginning of the month. It was here that they performed a special edition of a 2018 song with a hip-hop legend.

During Khruangbin’s set, they invited Yasiin Bey on stage to perform a hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien.” The original song is housed on Khruangbin’s 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, and the new take of the song is an incredible listen that was a part of a just-as-incredible set from the Texas trio. Khruangbin and Bey also delivered their own renditions of Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” classic and Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” during Bey’s time on stage with the group.

This is also not the first time that Bey performed the hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien” as he previously did so during a 2019 concert in Chicago.

You can watch Khruangbin and Mos Def perform “Maria Tambien” in the video above.

Beyonce’s Fans Can’t Tell If She’s Trolling Or Teasing Them About Her Long-Awaited Seventh Album

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The last time that Beyonce dropped a solo album was back in 2017 with her sixth release Lemonade. Since then, fans have received The Carters’ Everything Is Love album, some loose singles (mostly tied to movies like King Richard), and her The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. Still, her extremely faithful Beyhive fanbase is exercising as much patience as possible as they wait for album No. 7. Beyonce recently wiped her social media accounts clean, leading fans to believe that the album was finally on the way, but after some new moves from the singer, they’re not too sure now.

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A day after Beyonce wiped her social media accounts clean, fans notice that a placeholder for her seventh album shows up on her website when “June 11” is searched on the website. Future searches of “June 11,” bring up three results: “B7,” B8,” and “What’s a B7?” As a result, fans couldn’t tell if the singer was truly teasing the upcoming release of her seventh album or just trolling them for thinking it was on the way.

If Beyonce is trolling them, it would be similar to what Rihanna has done to her fans over the last couple of years. Rihanna once said that she “lost” her long-awaited ninth album, and after that, she trolled a lookalike by asking about her upcoming album.

You can view tweets from fans who think Beyonce is teasing or trolling about her next album below.

J. Cole Gives A ‘Shout-Out the People of Scarborough’ As He Departs The Shooting Stars To Go On Tour

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Last month, it was announced that J. Cole was signing with a professional basketball team for the second time in a year. After his stint with the Rwanda Patriots last summer, Cole decided to take his talents to Canada as he signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars. Cole played five games with the team, which is a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and during his time with them, he was able to serve as contributing player off the bench as he knocked down a few threes while earning some steals and rebounds in the process.

Despite this, Cole’s time with the Shooting Stars might have just come to an end. After the team’s 99-81 win on Wednesday, in which Cole scored a career-high of six points, the rapper announced that he would be stepping away from the team for an unknown amount of time to fulfill his tour duties. “I was telling the guys in there like, ‘I’m going for these shows, I’m not sure if I’ll be back,’” Cole said in an interview that was shared on the team’s Instagram account. “But just in case, I had to let them know how incredible this was. The players, the coaching staff, the organization, the league, it’s a crazy thing when you see it on paper, when you see what’s actually happening, and they made me feel so welcome.”

Cole also took a moment to show love to the people of Scarborough for the love they showed him over the last few weeks. “I gotta shout-out the people of Scarborough because coming from America, I didn’t really know,” he said. “So I’ve learned so much that the people there feel seen with this basketball team and this league highlighting them.”

He continued, “The people there feel seen and I’m assuming that was not always the cause, so I’m proud to be able to add something to Canada and to this talent that’s in Canada. Those guys are incredible so to be able to get some extra eyes on them is a pleasure.”

You can watch the full interview above.

‘P-Valley’: Here’s All The Music You Heard In Season 2, Episode 2

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(SPOILERS for this week’s P-Valley episode will be found below.)

Last week, during the season two premiere of P-Valley, we returned to the lives of Uncle Clifford, Mercedes, and Hailey (fka Autumn Night) to see that The Pynk is struggling a bit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chucalissa, the city in Mississippi where the strip club is located, eventually lifts COVID restrictions, allowing The Pynk to work its way to a “grand re-re-re-opening.” Things are also different now as Clifford and Hailey are now co-owners of The Pynk.

Furthermore, The Pynk is welcoming a new cast of strippers to P-Valley ahead of The Pynk’s “grand re-re-re-opening.” In episode two, we see which strippers are selected while we also get a look into Mercedes’ struggles, Hailey’s complicated relationship with Andre, Uncle Murda’s career and relationship with Clifford, and Keyshawn’s own aspirations.

The aforementioned events in this week’s episode are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. They include Jucee Froot’s thumping “Down In The Valley” which serves as the theme song for the series.

What Songs Were In ‘P-Valley’ S2E2?

The songs that soundtracked the standout moments on this week’s episode of P-Valley are DJ Chose’s “Thick” with Beatking and Bubba Sparxxx’s “Ms. New Booty” with Ying Yang Twins and Mr. Collipark as well as Beyonce’s “7/11.” DJ Chose and Bubba Sparxxx’s records appear in the first few moments of the show as Uncle Clifford, Hailey, and Mercedes hold auditions for new strippers at The Pynk. The ladies wait in line – as one even flirts with Big L – and later show off their skills on the pole.

Beyonce’s “7/11” plays during the “grand re-re-re-opening” of The Pynk. It’s here that Mercedes takes the stage with two of the new strippers. Unfortunately, Mercedes takes a big fall as a result of her shoulder giving out due to an injury she let linger for too long. The fall reunites Clifford, Hailey, Dante, and Mercedes for the first time since the chaos that went down during Murda Night.

The soundtrack for this week’s episode also includes the following songs:
Rick Ross – “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” Feat. Styles P
S3nsi Molly & Lil Brook – “Texas”
DJ Zirk – “Lock’em N Da Trunk”
DJ Jimi – “Where They At”
Snoop Dogg – “Down 4 My N’s” Feat. C-Murder & Magic
Shawnna – “Gettin’ Some”
Darondo – “I’m Lonely”
Valerie June – “Stay”

STARZ’s ‘P-Valley’ airs on Fridays at 9:00 pm EST.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jennifer Lopez Was Almost Forced To Cut The Cage Portion From Her 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Performance

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Jennifer Lopez Super Bowl 2020 Halftime
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A new Netflix documentary called Halftime takes an inside look at Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Super Bowl, in which she and Shakira took the stage to perform some of their biggest hits. Fans may remember that near the end of the show, kids appeared in cages, as a statement condemning detaining children in ICE detention centers.

The documentary revealed that this portion of the show nearly got cut.

When conceptualizing the show, Lopez said to her choreographer, “This girl from the Bronx, this girl that’s a Latina landed on this stage somehow and is here to represent our culture, our music and women everywhere. I’m thinking a great moment would be to have these fantastic little girl dancers I just met along with hundreds of other girls in light cages. A choir of little girls singing. We want a feeling of Latinos in cages…and you can’t keep us there. We won’t have that. The concept is, this next generation is not going to be suppressed in the way that we were.”

Later on in the documentary, she is seen in a meeting talking to higher-ups from the NFL. During the meeting, which took place a day before the actual Super Bowl, Lopez recalls feeling a “weird vibe” after running through the concept. Her manager later explained that the NFL had concerns about the cage portion and wanted her to pull it.

Lopez doubled down and refused to give in.

“For me, this isn’t about politics; this is about human rights,” Lopez said. “I’m facing the biggest crossroads of my life — being able to perform on the biggest stage of my life, but to take out the cages and sacrifice everything I believe in would be like never being here at all.”

Julee Cruise, Actress, Singer, And Frequent Collaborator Of David Lynch, Has Died At 65

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Actress and singer Julee Cruise has died at age 65. Known for her collaborations with film director David Lynch and The B-52s, Cruise had a chilling, brooding voice that added a surreal element to every project she was a part of.

Per The Guardian, Cruise’s husband, Edward Grinnan, shared the news via Facebook earlier today.

“She left this realm on her own terms. No regrets,” Grinnan wrote. “She is at peace. I played her [B-52’s song] ‘Roam’ during her transition. Now she will roam forever. Rest in peace, my love.”

Grinnan later confirmed to NPR that Cruise died by suicide after years of suffering from “lupus, depression, and alcohol and drug addiction”

Cruise’s voice found a fan in Lynch, who recruited her to sing the theme song, “Falling,” from Twin Peaks. She also collaborated with Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti for their Industrial Symphony No. 1 concert.

Since the announcement of her death, several of her fans and peers in the industry have taken to social media to pay their respects.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of Julee Cruise today,” said actor Kyle MacLachlan, who played Agent Cooper on Twin Peaks, on Twitter. “Her angelic voice transported us all to another dimension. Now, she’s floating among the angels. Sending love to her family, friends, and fans today.